LONDON — Early in the morning on April 13, an attacker began ramming his car into the official vehicle of the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom while it was parked outside the embassy. Officials in Kyiv and London scrambled to make sure that Natalia Galibarenko and her staff had not been harmed.
The man had not entered the Ukrainian embassy, a modest-sized building on the western edge of central London, and few diplomatic staff were in the building at the time.
Galibarenko was posted to the British capital in September 2015 and has been representing Ukrainian interests throughout the turbulence of Brexit. She is probably one of the most important Ukrainian ambassadors.
The senior diplomat told the Kyiv Post in an interview at the Ukrainian embassy in London on April 18 that she was relieved nobody had been hurt in the attack.
“Even in a disastrous situation like this there can be positives to find,” she said. “I was trying to imagine the picture if he had not been attacking the car but was attacking the line of voters outside the embassy instead,” the ambassador said. She expected 1,250 Ukrainians in London to vote at the embassy on April 21, as people headed to the polls for Election Day.
Embassy attack
Police blocked off the street and began a short but tense standoff with the attacker. The man then revved his engine before driving the car directly at officers, according to police. Armed officers opened fire on the vehicle but did not wound its driver. Instead, he was subdued with a taser.
“Instead of surrendering when faced by armed police, he attacked, forcing them to open fire,” the ambassador said. “This is something that I cannot explain — it goes beyond any kind of normal grievance.”
On April 14, London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed that the unnamed suspect had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and attempted murder. He was also sectioned under the Mental Health Act and transferred to a hospital.
A damaged black diplomatic car remains parked in the street outside the Ukrainian Embassy in west London on April 14, 2019, a day after an incident in which police firearms and a taser were used in making an arrest. – Police opened fire outside Ukraine’s embassy in London on Saturday after a vehicle rammed into the ambassador’s parked car and then drove at officers called to the scene. No diplomatic staff were injured in the incident and nor was the suspect, a man in his 40s, but he was taken to hospital as a precaution after being arrested, police said. (Photo by Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP)
British Ukrainians
An estimated 31,000 Ukrainian-born citizens live in the United Kingdom, although it is unknown exactly how many ethnic Ukrainians live among the diaspora that is scattered throughout the British Isles.
Despite the April 13 attack, Galibarenko maintains that the Ukrainian community in the U.K. broadly feels safe and secure.
“It is a close-knit community… and despite Brexit, Ukrainians generally feel welcome and not threatened,” she said. These days, the same cannot be said for all foreigners in Britain.
The country’s move to leave the European Union, decided in a 2016 referendum, has been accompanied by a rise in rhetoric and actions that are anti-European and xenophobic, experts say.
Last summer, the United Nations issued a report that warned of a rise in “Brexit-related” racism. Eastern Europeans have been made to feel especially unwelcome since the contentious vote.
But Ukrainians are mostly happy in Britain, the ambassador said, adding that the embassy deals with few serious consular complaints. And there are plenty of good reasons for Ukrainians to feel comfortable in the U.K.
Migrant workers earn some of the best salaries in Europe, many British universities and schools rank among the world’s best, living standards are high and the country is, for the most part, economically and politically stable.
Ukrainians in the U.K. have put down social and cultural roots too, and their heritage, if you know where to look, is not difficult to see.
Unions, societies and associations bring the Ukrainian diaspora together. Ukrainian language newspapers can be found. There is a Ukrainian language service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, and the British Library in London — the world’s largest with some 200 million items in its inventory — has an impressive Ukrainian collection that is constantly being replenished.
A statue of Volodymyr the Great can be found in central London, as can memorials honoring the Ukrainian war dead. Near the northern English city of Derby — which has a Ukrainian community — there is a monument to the Soviet-orchestrated famine known as the Holodomor. Similar memorials can be found in the cities of Bolton and Rochdale too.
For Britain and Ukraine, ties are strong and relations good, but they can always be better. And no shortage of challenges lay ahead.
On Russia
In one area, Ukraine and the U.K. are almost entirely in agreement, and that is unlikely to change. When it comes to Russia’s war against the country, Ukraine has a steadfast and reliable ally in Britain.
Galibarenko says that being based in the U.K. presents her with the perfect platform to represent and defend Ukrainian interests.
“This country presents very favorable conditions for speaking about Russia because people here understand that we are speaking about Russian aggression — there is no civil war in Ukraine,” she said, adding that there is an additional challenge in working to make sure that this is accurately portrayed in English-language media.
“Other ambassadors have to explain that Russia is waging a war against Ukraine and they’re not listening,” the ambassador said, suggesting that some foreign officials have fallen victim to Moscow’s propaganda. “They don’t believe there are Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.”
Galibarenko says that the U.K. has been a strong advocate for Ukraine, especially in increasing sanctions on Moscow. Meanwhile, other countries in Europe have been somewhat less reliable. She fears losing the support of London in the European corridors of power.
“For me, that there will be no U.K. voice in Brussels that is defending Ukraine, it could be a big problem… there are certain things that we cannot change… after Brexit we will lose a voice in support of Ukraine,” the ambassador said.
Brexit and Ukraine
Galibarenko is trying not to become too distracted by the political circuses that are taking place in both London and Kyiv, where Brexit and elections dominate the news cycles. She says that Kyiv’s priorities when it comes to British-Ukrainian relations are unlikely to change, regardless of circumstances.
“These political battles are influencing us very little,” she said. “And we have our own agenda with Britain, irrespective of what is happening in Ukraine. Certain priorities like EU and NATO integration are already envisaged in the constitution… (and) regardless of the next president, (such) priorities won’t change.”
How the United Kingdom and its commitment to multilateral agreements and institutions could change, however, is a point of concern for the ambassador — and she is not alone: many Ukrainian lawmakers have told the Kyiv Post they’re anxious about Brexit, and losing the British voice in Brussels.
“Brexit is a problem,” Galibarenko said. “Uncertainties in our bilateral relationship are a problem.” Ukrainians are being patient when it comes to unanswered questions on important issues relating to trade and visas, she added.
“We don’t even know when Brexit is coming… and we cannot proceed to a higher level of consultations,” the ambassador said.
In Kyiv, the British ambassador to Ukraine, Judith Gough, recently told the Kyiv Post that preliminary talks on a new trade agreement had started. She also said she hoped that visa-free travel (for Brits) would remain unaffected.
Many Ukrainian officials would like to renegotiate the British-Ukrainian visa arrangements and say it is broken.
“We would also like to simplify the visa regime,” said the Ukrainian ambassador to London, noting that Ukrainians have a rough time in getting a U.K. visa. Rejection rates are high and visas can be expensive for Ukrainians.
Meanwhile, British citizens can travel to Ukraine for 90 days without a visa. But beyond that period they also face problems. Visa fees for U.K. citizens are the most expensive of any nationality: a type-D visa for work is at least $800, while a family reunification visa will cost $2,000 or more. Then begins the bureaucratic headache of attempting to get a 1-year temporary residence permit.
Galibarenko says the bilateral arrangement should be improved, but she’s encountering obstacles in London where she has had little luck in securing commitments to renegotiate.
“We are realistic people and we’re not pushing for a visa-free regime with the U.K. the day after Brexit… but let’s start some kind of a dialogue, let’s look at simplification,” she said, adding that Ukrainian officials, scientists, businesspeople, and journalists should at least have an easier time in visiting the U.K.
“It is difficult for me to explain back in Ukraine… because we’re very good friends with the U.K. and to explain why friends cannot proceed with improvements in their relations, it’s difficult,” she said.
Despite challenges ahead, Galibarenko is sure that Ukraine and the United Kingdom will face them together. She says there is plenty of opportunity to deepen ties and improve the relationship.
“We should be doing more to improve our image in the U. K. Ukraine is not only a victim of aggression,” she said. “We can also be a very good and valuable partner… our country has a lot to offer.”
